A Matter of Time
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: 1987 series, my Exit the Fly verse. Based on a concept from Harry2. The Turtles and Baxter fall through a dimensional vortex courtesy of Shredder and are thrust five years into the future. It isn't a pleasant place.


**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987**

 **A Matter of Time**

 **By Lucky_Ladybug**

 **Notes: The characters are not mine. The story is based on a concept from my friend Harry2. This rendering of it is mine! This is part of my** _ **Exit the Fly**_ **verse. Baxter is human again and an ally of the Turtles. His brother Barney works for Shredder.**

It started out as a routine Stop Shredder mission. The Turtles and Baxter had chased him into the museum, where he was attempting to steal a newly arrived artifact that was on loan from London. But after the Turtles had defeated Bebop and Rocksteady and were making their way towards Shredder, he suddenly surprised them.

"You should have paid more attention to what I was doing," he sneered. "The artifact isn't the real prize. It's what's hidden inside it!"

He threw it to the floor and somersaulted backwards to get away from it. As it shattered, a bizarre, swirling vortex opened where it had been. The Turtles and Baxter gasped. Unwillingly, they began to lean towards it.

"It's too strong!" Leonardo cried, gritting his teeth. "It's like a cyclone! We're all being pulled in!"

"Hold on to each other!" Donatello directed. "There has to be a way out of this!"

"I'm on it, Dudes!" Michelangelo cried. Even as the vortex threatened to swallow all of them, he strained in desperation to swing his grappling hook around a ceiling beam or a pillar. Instead, the force of the portal grabbed hold of it and pulled him backwards into it.

"Michelangelo!" Baxter burst out in horror. He let go of Leonardo, diving after his friend.

"We'll have to go too," Leonardo knew. "Somehow we'll find a way back, but it will be together!"

"We don't know what's in there!" Donatello exclaimed.

"Sure we do!" Raphael shot back. "Michelangelo and Baxter!" And he took the plunge as well.

Leonardo looked to Donatello. "Let's go, Donatello."

Donatello, despite still looking worried about where the portal might lead, knew Leonardo was right. He nodded. "Let's save our friends."

And they leaped in together.

Shredder, safely away from the pull of the vortex, stood and cackled as it closed. "At last! I've vanquished all four Turtles at once! And Baxter was a bonus!"

"Uh, what happened to them, Boss?" Bebop asked as he got up and went over.

"Who knows?" Shredder sneered. "They could have been propelled into another dimension, another time. . . . The important thing is that they're out of our hair!"

Rocksteady got up too. "Is this why you didn't want Barney to come along this time? Because you knew you were gonna blast his brother off into space?"

"Something like that," Shredder said. "I suspect that Barney still loves his brother far more than he will ever admit. I've heard him ranting and raving in his laboratory, talking to himself about his conflicting feelings for Baxter. And I've noticed how he often lingers behind when we're fleeing from a failed scheme. He's talking to Baxter. Now that Baxter is out of the way, we can find out exactly how Barney will handle it." His eyes gleamed. "And with the Turtles gone, we are finally free to conquer this miserable planet!"

"Oh boy," said Bebop.

"Can we get our own place to rule over?" Rocksteady said hopefully.

"I'll think about it," Shredder said. "Maybe I'll give you New Jersey." He turned, heading out of the museum.

"Aww, New Jersey?" Rocksteady scowled. "I was hoping for something bigger!"

"At least it's a place," Bebop said as they followed Shredder out.

xxxx

"Oh. . . ." Michelangelo groaned as consciousness slowly returned. "Mondo wipeout." He was sprawled on the hard ground, his grappling hook laying limply in front of him, and it felt like something was draped sideways over his shell. Or some _one._

Another voice groaned too. "Where are we?"

"I have . . . absolutely no idea." Michelangelo reached behind him and found Baxter's limp hand. "Are you okay?"

The hand moved. "Fine." Baxter pushed himself off of Michelangelo's shell and sat on the ground. "Are you?"

"Yeah." Michelangelo sat up too. "But I sure don't wanna rewind that experience!"

The other Turtles, laying all around them, started to move too. "Something doesn't feel right," Leonardo said.

"We fell through a glowing hole in the floor," said Raphael. "Of course something doesn't feel right!"

"No, I feel it too," Michelangelo said. "It feels like . . . this whole place is sad."

Donatello looked around. "It looks like the museum," he gasped. "Only it's abandoned and crumbling. There's no roof!"

That brought everyone upright. "What the heck?! Did we travel, like, a million years into the future?!" Michelangelo rushed to the missing wall and looked out.

Everyone else swiftly joined him. "It doesn't look very futuristic to me," Leonardo said. "The cars don't look that different. Or the buildings. The ones that are standing, anyway."

"Well, something totally trashed the museum," Michelangelo frowned.

"We'd better see what else has happened." Donatello stepped through the wall and started walking. "Obviously _some_ time must have passed."

The others swiftly joined him, not daring to separate when they didn't even know what kind of a world they had landed in. The sky overhead was a fiery red-orange. It was sunset, but somehow it felt as though the color wasn't entirely because of the time of day. There was something angry and desolate about the world. Buildings were abandoned. Others were demolished.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Michelangelo said after a few blocks. "Shredderville."

Baxter turned and gave him a sharp look. "What?!"

"It was this bizarro place in this shared dream we all had," Michelangelo said. "At least . . . we thought it was a dream at the time." He gulped. "Shredder had taken over the city and everything was a wreck and we didn't exist. . . ."

"It does look kind of like Shredderville," Leonardo agreed. "Only I don't think it's quite that dilapidated."

"There's still brainwashing speakers everywhere, though," Donatello noted as they drew closer to the heart of the city. The speakers were on every corner, it seemed, ordering the populace to follow Shredder and put down all rebellions.

"This is highly disturbing," Baxter said, adjusting his glasses. "Have we been flung into another dimension?"

A gasp up ahead made him jump a mile. A slightly older Irma was staring at the lot of them. "It can't be!" she breathed. "You're all dead!"

"We're what?!" Leonardo stepped forward. "Irma, we're not dead! We fell into a dimensional portal. What happened?!"

Irma took a step back. "None of you came back from your last fight with Shredder," she said, her voice quavering. "He said . . . he said he'd personally killed every one of you. Vaporized you so there was no trace. And then he proceeded to take over the city."

Now the others were staring. "Oh great!" Raphael burst out. "So we didn't go into another dimension. We went into the future!"

"And it's a wreck," Leonardo exclaimed. "How many years have we been gone?"

"Five," Irma said softly. Subconsciously she rubbed her arm. She was dressed mostly the same as they remembered, only now she bore a mourning band on her left sleeve.

Baxter stepped forward now. "You still don't believe it, do you, Miss Langinstein?" he said quietly. He held out a hand. "It's true. We're not dead."

Irma hesitated. "Is my hand going to go through yours? . . . Or am I going to find out you're a bunch of robots or something?"

"Irma, it's really us!" Leonardo insisted. "Please, you've got to believe us!"

"And we have _got_ to find a way to get home and make sure this future doesn't happen," Raphael exclaimed.

Finally Irma reached out, taking Baxter's hand. When her fingers closed around it, tears welled in her eyes. "It really is you! This is a human hand. A mortal hand. . . ." She looked to the Turtles. "And all of you are really here too!"

"That's right," Leonardo smiled. "But tell us, Irma, where is everyone? What's happened to Master Splinter and April?"

"And Barney?!" Baxter added.

Irma looked away again. "I was going to see Splinter now," she said. "He's still alive, but he . . . he's been growing weaker ever since you disappeared. He grieves so much over you . . . over all of you. You too, Dr. Stockman.

"April, well . . . the last five years have been really rough on her." She started walking. "Shredder forced her to start working as his personal assistant after he took over."

 _"WHAT?!"_ everyone else yelped with one voice.

"How could Shred-Head ever make April do anything?!" Raphael demanded.

Donatello nodded. "She'd never do what he wanted."

Irma walked faster, shaking her head. "Let's not talk about it up here." Her voice cracked, and Baxter noticed she touched the mourning band as she spoke.

"What about Barney?" he asked again.

"Oh . . . Barney's alive," Irma mumbled, but she sounded distracted. Baxter decided he would get better information if he waited. Something connected with April's situation had badly distressed her. Of course, it certainly sounded like a distressing situation.

Soon Irma led them to the nearest grate and they descended onto a ledge. Irma knew where she was going, but the Turtles and Baxter were puzzled. Nothing looked familiar.

"This doesn't look like the way to the Lair," Leonardo said.

"Unless the sewers got a mondo big overhaul," Michelangelo added.

"This is a new way to get there," Irma said.

Several minutes later they arrived at a door, where Irma typed in a security code on a keypad.

"Hey, that's a pretty good idea," Donatello said in approval. "I'll have to think about adding that. It could really keep out unwanted visitors."

"It's not like we really have any, Donatello," Michelangelo said. "Our Lair's still pretty secret, you know?"

Donatello shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to be prepared."

The door swung open and Irma entered, but she paused and looked over her shoulder instead of immediately allowing the others entrance. "Maybe you'd better let me introduce you," she said. "If you all just walk in, I'm not sure if Master Splinter could take the shock."

"Wait, you're calling him Master Splinter now too?" Raphael blinked.

"He's training fighters for the resistance," Irma said. "I'm one of them." As she stepped inside, she tripped on the edge of a rug and went down.

Everyone else winced. ". . . Yeah. I can see that's going real well," said Raphael.

Irma scrambled up with a scowl. "I'm doing a lot better than I was when I first started!" she shot back.

"Irma?" The sound of Splinter's weak and trembling voice sent a chill through everyone present. "Who is with you?"

Irma bit her lip. "It's . . . kind of hard to explain, Sensei. It's the Turtles and Dr. Stockman. They're alive."

"Alive?!" Splinter sounded all at once both joyous and disbelieving. "I must see them. . . ." The familiar sound of his walking stick on the floor was soon followed by his hunched-over form coming into view. It was a heartbreaking sight. Clearly he had aged far more than five years during their absence. But as he looked upon them, the old spark came into his eyes once again. "My Turtles! Dr. Stockman!" He held out his arms. "You have come home at last."

Immediately the Turtles surrounded him in an embrace. Baxter hung back with Irma, allowing them their moment.

"We're so sorry, Master Splinter," Leonardo said sadly. "In our last fight with Shredder, he sent us through a dimensional portal."

Michelangelo nodded. "For us, we've only been gone a few minutes. And here it's been years for you."

"You are safe," Splinter said, and now he sounded much stronger. "That is what matters."

"What's going on down here?" came another well-remembered voice. But now, knowing what Irma had told them, the Turtles and Baxter froze to hear it.

"April?" Leonardo said in surprise.

April gasped. "Leonardo?!" She rushed in. "Guys!" She stopped and just looked at them, tears pricking her eyes. "I always wanted to believe you'd come back someday, especially since there weren't any bodies. . . . Shredder bragged about killing all of you, but it just didn't seem like him not to have some trophies of his victory."

"We're all okay, Dudette," Michelangelo smiled. "But what's this about you working for Shredder?!"

April's eyes darkened. "I don't want to, that's for sure." She shut the door behind her and locked it back up. "He didn't give me much choice."

"April is part of the resistance as well," Splinter said. "She is here for her lesson with Irma."

"It is really weird to think of Irma training in ninjitsu," Raphael said. "I mean _really_ weird."

Irma put her hands on her hips and glowered at him. "Okay, so maybe I don't learn as quick as April, but I'm getting there! Someday I'm going to be the one to personally bring Shredder down." She clenched her fists.

"Wow, Irma, you're like, seriously hardcore," Michelangelo said in surprise.

"Something must really be driving you, for you to feel so strongly about it," Leonardo said.

Irma turned away. "Yeah."

"We will talk more after their lesson," Splinter said. "Please, come and watch."

The Turtles and Baxter went agreeably. They were all certainly curious. And to their amazement, both April and Irma were indeed doing well. By the time the lesson ended, the audience was more than ready for the break.

"Watching you girls is wearing me out," Raphael remarked.

"Really? I feel like I could go another round," said April.

Irma nodded in agreement. "Then we'll be that much closer to bringing Shredder down for good."

Baxter decided this was a good time to try asking again. "What will happen to my brother when you do that?" he demanded. "Is he still working for Shredder?"

April stiffened. "No, he isn't," she said softly.

Baxter stared at her. "Then what?!" he exclaimed. "Miss Langinstein said he isn't dead!"

"He's not dead," April assured him. "But I wonder if he'd be happier if he was. Shredder kicked him and Krang out when he took control and he basically became a recluse in an old house in town."

"I think he only ever talks to that creepy computer," Irma added.

"The truth is . . ." April looked down. "He . . . couldn't handle your 'death.' It pushed him over the edge and he became highly unstable and dangerous. He's half-crazy with grief and anger that he was never able to deal with."

"He answers his door with a shotgun," Irma said.

"Oh. . . ." Baxter ran a hand down his face. "We have to find a way to get back to our own time to stop all of this from happening. We have to. . . ." He trembled. The thought of Barney in that state was completely heartbreaking.

Michelangelo laid a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find a way, Dude," he said reassuringly. "There has to be a way to get back, right, Donatello?"

"I sure hope so," Donatello said.

"Maybe you could rewire your old dimensional portal for time-travel," Raphael suggested.

"Are you kidding? That would take until we're all old and gray!" Donatello retorted. "That portal has never worked right."

Michelangelo frowned. "I wonder if the Neutrinos could help us. They've got all kinds of technology that we don't have here."

"That's not a bad idea," April perked up. "You should try to contact them with your dimensional radio, Donatello!"

"I hope it still works after all these years," Donatello worried.

Michelangelo looked to Irma. "Hey, you could take that thing off now, couldn't you?" He pointed to her mourning band. "Now that you know we're all alive and well."

But Irma shook her head and laid her hand over it. "I wasn't wearing it just for you guys," she said. "Some people died for real after Shredder took over. That's . . . that's how come Shredder was able to force April to work for him."

The Turtles and Baxter exchanged a look. "Who died, Irma?" Leonardo asked.

Tears welled in Irma's eyes.

April laid a hand on Irma's shoulder. "I'll tell you about it," she said quietly.

 _As one of Shredder's first acts after assuming control and booting out Krang and Barney, he decided to take over Channel 6. Naturally, April and Burne were determined not to let it happen. But as contingent after contingent of Foot Soldiers trouped into the building, it seemed hopeless. Soon Shredder had them, Irma, and Vernon pinned down on the last stronghold-the roof._

 _"Well," he sneered behind his mask, "what do you have to say now, Mr. Thompson and Miss O'Neil?"_

 _"You're not gonna get away with this!" Burne snarled, shaking a beefy fist at him._

 _"Oh, but I already am," Shredder said in delight._

 _"You'll have to go through all of us to take over this station," April snapped. "And we're not moving!"_

 _"Speak for yourself," Vernon retorted. "If he wants to take over the station, why don't we just let him?!"_

 _April slapped her forehead. "Oh Vernon!"_

 _"I'm not letting any metal-faced creep take over my station!" Burne roared._

 _"Hmm. Then it's a fight to the death, is it?" Shredder's eyes glinted. "An interesting idea. Who should go first? I know." He grabbed a laser gun from the nearest Foot Soldier and aimed at Irma. "Let's see how tough you are if I take out your best friend, Miss O'Neil."_

 _April gasped in horror. She wasn't close enough to stop it. "Irma, run!" she screamed._

 _Irma looked up, her eyes wide with fear. All the Foot Soldiers were now aiming at her as they closed in. There was nowhere she_ _ **could**_ _run._

 _The last thing she expected was to suddenly be tackled out of the way as Shredder's gun fired first, followed by several of the Foot Soldiers'. "Irma!" Before she could even process what had just happened, a horrible wail of pain pierced her eardrums. The one who had saved her let go and fell to the roof, breathing heavily. The scent of melted flesh filled the air. His clothes were torn and burned through in several places._

 _Irma crashed to her knees next to him while somewhere in the background, April cried out in horror. "Vernon! Vernon, what did you just do?!"_

 _He blinked up at Irma, dazed, already only half-there. His wounds were serious; he wouldn't last long. "I . . . I don't know," he mumbled. "I saw that they were going to kill you and you had no way out. . . . And I remembered when I just stood by and watched them gun you down in Moriarty's timeline. I didn't want to do that again. . . . And I just acted. . . . I . . . I didn't want you killed. . . . But I didn't want_ _ **me**_ _killed either. . . . I wish I could have moved a little faster. . . . Tackled us both to the roof. . . ."_

 _Tears were flowing from Irma's eyes as she struggled to rip his shirt further in order to examine one of the worst wounds. "It's going to be okay, Vernon," she sobbed. "We'll get help. You'll be okay. . . ."_

 _"No . . . no, I won't." Vernon looked up blankly at the sky. "And you wonder why I was always a coward. This is what happens when someone tries to be brave!"_

 _Irma clamped a hand over her mouth. The damage was too extensive. Even she could see that Vernon was right. There was no hope. "Why, Vernon?" she whispered._

 _He smiled, weakly. "Dr. Stockman and April and you . . . you actually started to make me feel like I . . . wasn't worthless. It was nice. For a long time, I . . . I didn't feel I could accept it. When I finally did, I was . . . happy, for once in my life." He raised his hand just enough to brush his fingers against hers. "Maybe, if things had been different . . ." He trailed off and went still, his eyes open but unseeing, his voice silenced for good._

 _Irma stared at him for a long moment, shaking. Then she screamed. Her hands flew to her face as she started to cry uncontrollably._

 _April clenched her hands into fists. "You_ _ **monster!**_ _" she burst out at Shredder. Tears were threatening to spill from her own eyes, but she wouldn't cry here. Not now, not in front of Shredder._

 _"And I always thought Mr. Fenwick was the most disliked and useless member of your little crew," Shredder mocked._

 _"We never wanted to see him hurt," April spat._

 _"Well, now you've seen how easily I can dispatch any of you." Shredder gripped the gun. "I meant to shoot down Miss Langinstein. I would have, if it hadn't been for that fool. I can still get her as well. And there are others I can target. What about Mr. Fenwick's family? He has a young nephew, I believe."_

 _April stared at him. "You'd go after a child?!"_

 _"Why not? Oh, and what about_ _ **your**_ _family, Miss O'Neil? Your parents, your aunt. . . . I could easily have my Foot Soldiers track them down and finish them off too."_

 _April took a step back. "You wouldn't!"_

 _"But I would! Unless . . ."_

 _"Yeah, yeah. Unless what?!" Burne demanded._

 _"Unless Miss O'Neil comes to work for me as my chief assistant," Shredder crowed._

 _"What?!" Burne looked scandalized. "No way!"_

 _But April trembled. She looked down at Vernon's lifeless body, peppered with fatal laser blasts. She looked to Irma, still sobbing over him. And she looked to Shredder, holding the gun right at Irma's head._

 _"Alright!" she cried. "I'll do it."_

 _"April!" Burne said in disbelief._

 _"I have to, Chief," April told him. "Shredder isn't bluffing. He proved that."_

 _"By getting rid of Vernon?" Burne gestured at the fallen reporter. "He never was much use, just like Shredder said."_

 _"Shredder was going after Irma in the first place," April snapped back. "She'd be dead if Vernon hadn't actually found that there was something worth being brave for. He gave his life for her! Don't you have any heart at all?!"_

 _"Sure, I do," Burne retorted. "I just don't want to see my star reporter making the biggest mistake of her life! This situation's bad enough as it is!"_

 _"Shredder's capable of and willing to take us all out!" April insisted. "And I'm not going to let anyone else die if I can help it. If I have to work for Shredder, then okay."_

 _"Good, Miss O'Neil. Good," Shredder purred. "You know, I've had a certain attraction to you for some time. It will be nice to have some more . . . quality time together."_

 _April's lip curled. "This is only business, Shredder, and it's only to save my family and my other friends." She walked over to the middle of the roof and laid her hands on Irma's shoulders. "And someday we're going to bring you down," she whispered._

The Turtles and Baxter sat stunned and haunted at the end of the tale.

"No way," Michelangelo breathed. "So Vernon actually saved you?" He looked to Irma. "And you wear the mourning band for him, huh?"

"And I'm going to bring Shredder down myself to avenge him," Irma said, her voice and eyes unusually dark.

"That is a very dangerous goal," Splinter said. "As I have told you before, Irma, you must keep your mind clear. You must not let it become clouded with thoughts of revenge or you will fail."

"I'd be really tough," Irma muttered.

"Even if you defeated Shredder, with that mindset you would fail because you would fall to the darkness," Splinter said. "Do you think that is what Vernon would want for you?"

Irma's shoulders slumped and she looked down. "No."

"You finally worked your way into Vernon's heart because you never gave up trying to reach out to him even when he was impossible," April said softly. "I don't want to see that part of you disappear either."

Irma's head snapped up. "You won't!" she insisted.

"I hope not," April said.

Baxter looked to Irma. He felt sick. All of this chaos and heartache had happened because they had fallen into the dimensional portal. Somehow it had to be reversed.

Donatello was of the same mind. "I'm going to go try to get the dimensional radio working so I can talk to the Neutrinos," he declared. "We just have to get back!"

Baxter hesitated. "I should probably try to help you," he said slowly. "But after what I've been told about my brother, I . . . I'd like to see him. I know it's illogical," he rushed on. "I should just focus on getting us out of this horrible future as quickly as we can. But . . ."

"You don't have to explain, Baxter," Leonardo said kindly.

Michelangelo nodded. "Heck, I'm sure that if any of us found out that any of the others had gone completely gonzo in some wacked-out future, we'd wanna go see them."

"Uh, he answers his door with a shotgun?" Raphael prompted. "Does anyone else think that going to see anyone in that state is more than a little stupid?"

"I'll be careful," Baxter said. "If Vincent's still with him, I'm sure he won't let Barney hurt me."

"Oh, Vincent's still with him," April said. "Vincent pretty much became his whole life after Shredder kicked him out." She sighed. "If you're going to go see him, I'd better take you to his house. You might get lost trying to find it."

Baxter looked to her with a start. "I don't want to put you in any possible danger, Miss O'Neil."

"It's okay." April gave him a smile. "I've been to see him before."

"Does Shredder keep tabs on him or something?" Michelangelo blinked.

"I don't think Shredder could care less about Barney," April said. "No, I go see him because . . . no one else ever does. Not even his parents. They both disowned him. . . . I think they both blame him for Baxter's death."

"But he didn't have anything to do with it!" Baxter said in dismay. "He wasn't even there!"

"I know. Actually, I tried to talk to them once, but they wouldn't budge. Your father still hates you too, Dr. Stockman, but thinking your brother had something to do with your death made him hate Barney more. Your mother seemed to be grieving and said she considered that both her sons were dead."

Baxter slumped back. "That's horrible."

April looked down. "So Barney really doesn't have anyone but Vincent and me. I guess I'm trying to keep him at least halfway sane. I felt sorry for him and I thought I owed it to you."

Baxter was stunned. "You're very kind," he said quietly.

April looked bittersweet. "I still kept hoping you'd come back," she said. "I didn't want you to get back and find him absolutely out of his mind." She stood and headed for the door. "We'd better go. Shredder enforces a curfew when it gets later."

Baxter got up and followed. "You're sure it's alright," he said in concern to Donatello.

"Go ahead and go," Donatello said. "If I haven't got the radio going when you get back, you can help me then."

Baxter nodded. "Thank you."

Michelangelo hopped up too. "I'm going with you, Dude!" he said. "There's no telling what we might run into out there. And . . . you could probably use all the support you can get."

Baxter regarded him in surprise. "I wouldn't expect you to come along."

"It's totally cool," Michelangelo said. "I want to."

"I'd better come too," Leonardo said. "It's dark now and I bet the streets aren't very safe."

"Be careful, all of you," Splinter implored. "Foot Soldiers patrol the streets at night."

Raphael sighed in exasperation. "Oh alright, I'll come too. You'll probably need some backup to deal with both the Foot Soldiers and Barney."

"I think everyone will be safe with me," April said. "I have greater access to the city than most people do."

"I wouldn't think Shred-Head would really give you any level of power," Raphael commented.

"Well . . . I _am_ more of a glorified office worker than anything else," April admitted. "But he has to let me in on some things."

The group headed out of the Lair and soon were topside at April's van-which was a badly stripped-down version of the Turtle Van.

"Sorry about this, guys," April said apologetically. "Shredder mockingly let me have your van, but only after he took everything out of it that he didn't want me using against him."

"Now it looks more like my van again, in some ways," Baxter remarked.

"Hey, this is the least upsetting thing we've discovered so far," Raphael shrugged.

"Donatello probably wouldn't agree with you," Leonardo said.

"It _is_ a pretty big bummer," Michelangelo said. "Wow, it looks so bare."

They all climbed inside and April drove off.

"This is such a bleak place," Leonardo remarked. "Is anything the same at all?"

"Hardly anything," April said. "Shredder's more vicious than ever. Barney is unstable. Master Splinter aged so much in the five years since you've been gone. . . . But tonight he was a lot more like his old self again." She gave a genuine smile, but it faded. "And some people aren't coming back like you guys have. . . ."

"Yeah, how about that Irma and Vernon," Raphael commented. "What are they, star-crossed lovers? They sure have a rough time both staying alive in these alternate timelines."

"Raphael," Leonardo chided.

"They were never romantically involved," April said. "Vernon never showed any interest in Irma that way. Actually, I'm the one he flirted with once." She colored.

"Vernon _flirted_ with you?" Raphael echoed. "What universe did that happen in?"

"The normal one, actually," April said. "It happened when we were investigating the lake near Sopho U."

"Okay, that's a story we've never heard," Raphael said.

"Probably because I wanted to forget it," April muttered. Sadness flickered her eyes. "But you don't know how many times I've wished those times were back again."

"They will be, April," Leonardo vowed. "We won't let this horrible future come to pass. We'll go back to the past and then it won't happen like this at all."

She smiled. "I know that if there's any way you can do it, you will."

Presently she pulled up in front of a badly-kempt house in one of the many rundown inner city neighborhoods. Raphael gave the tall weeds, rotting roof, and hanging shutters a dubious look. "Barney lives here?"

"Yeah," April said quietly. "I'm sorry, Dr. Stockman."

"Barney never was much for keeping house," Baxter said with a weak smile. He climbed out of the van, his heart gathering speed. What was he going to find? April's descriptions of Barney's behavior were horrifying. It twisted Baxter's very soul to think of his brother in such a state. Especially since it was all because of him.

He headed up the cracked walkway, trying not to show his nervousness. The others followed at a safe distance, wanting to give Baxter space to really reunite with his brother, yet wanting to be nearby in case there was trouble. Baxter climbed the rickety steps to the porch and hesitantly knocked.

The door flew open almost instantly. Barney stood bathed in the light of his living room, his eyes wild. His red hair, streaked with stress-induced gray, was pulled back in a very loose ponytail. And April had been right about the shotgun. He gripped it in both hands, pointing it right at Baxter. "What is this?!" he snarled. "What kind of sick treachery is Shredder pulling on me now?!" He poked the shotgun through a shotgun barrel-shaped hole in the screen door and prodded Baxter in the chest with it. "He's sending androids of my brother after me?!"

Baxter looked up at Barney in heartbroken grief. "No, Barney," he said softly. "I'm not an android."

Barney prodded him again. The Turtles tensed. Raphael drew his sai. "Well, you're not a spectre, which means you can't be my brother," Barney retorted. "You must be a paid imposter."

Baxter walked around the shotgun and came closer to the door. "Barney, it _is_ me," he pleaded. "I never died! The Turtles and I fell into a dimensional vortex and Shredder lied and said he'd killed us!" He gripped at the old screen. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that I did this to you." His voice caught in his throat.

"Yeah," Raphael muttered. "This was a really bad idea, for both of them."

Michelangelo bit his lip. "What should we do, Amigos?"

"Wait a minute," April said.

Barney was staring at Baxter now. For a moment he wavered. But then his eyes flamed red and he drew the shotgun back through the hole, only to press it at Baxter through another part of the screen. _"Shut up!"_ he roared. "You're not real. I'm hallucinating again! You're a figment of my imagination! Get off my porch! Get out of my life!" He stepped back with the shotgun and waved it around before aiming. Clearly this time, he was going to fire.

And then suddenly a mechanical hand reached out and pushed the weapon upward. "Barney, don't," came Vincent's familiar soft voice. "I see Baxter too. You're not hallucinating."

Barney stood, shaking, his eyes still filled with crashing emotions. But he let Vincent take the shotgun away from him.

Baxter stared in amazement as Vincent stepped into the light. In some ways, he reminded Baxter of his appearance when he had used a piece of technology they had found to give himself a full body. But in other ways, he was quite different. His body now was made of metal. The laptop, as with the desktop model in the past, served as his head.

Barney still hadn't spoken. Vincent set the shotgun in the corner and walked over to the screen door. "Let me analyze him," he said calmly to Barney, who offered no rebellion.

Vincent unlatched the door and reached for Baxter's hand, which Baxter blankly let him have. Then he held Baxter's right forefinger up to the webcam on the front of the laptop. Soon he had scanned it and statistics ran across the laptop screen.

Baxter eyed them in shock. Vincent had used Baxter's fingerprint to match with his old police records. For a moment Baxter cringed, silently bemoaning the fact that they existed for something he hadn't even done. Short of an official pardon, that strike would always be there against him.

The screen changed back to Vincent's face. If Baxter had ever seen the alien computer look joyous before, it was nothing compared to how he looked now. "Baxter, old pal! It's you. It's really you!" He reached out, pulling Baxter into an embrace.

Stunned, Baxter slowly returned it. "Vincent . . ." He listened to the mechanical hum of the robotic body. "You look so different. . . ."

"I know," Vincent said with enthusiasm. "Isn't it great? I became Barney's pet project after Shredder got rid of us." But then his voice filled with sadness as he continued, "Barney had to focus on something, anything, to try not to think about the pain." He pulled back, studying Baxter. "You really don't look any different, Buddy."

"I'm not," Baxter said. "For the Turtles and I, we've only been gone several hours. And here, so many years have passed. So much heartache and pain and grief . . . all because we were gone. . . ." He shook his head. "It's overwhelming." He looked around Vincent to where Barney was still standing and seething, clenching his fists over and over. "Barney has changed so much. . . ."

Vincent stepped aside. "He really loves you," he said softly.

"I know," Baxter said. "My disappearance wouldn't have broken him if he didn't." He took a step forward. "Barney?"

Barney wouldn't look at him.

"You know how a lot of humans turn to harmful substances to dull the pain?" Vincent said.

Baxter stiffened. "Barney and I made a vow to never drink or do drugs," he said. "We didn't want to use anything that would also dull our minds. It was one of the few things we agreed on."

"He kept to that vow," Vincent said. "So he's lived with his pain front and center all these years. No matter how he tried to push it aside to work on helping me, it was always there, right behind his eyes. I saw it."

Baxter was sickened. "Oh Barney. . . ." He walked over to his brother now, desperate to reach him. Even though they were determined to reverse this future, right now it existed and Baxter couldn't bear to just leave things like this. "Barney, please, won't you believe that I'm really here?"

The Turtles and April were on the porch by now. Raphael was still tense. But Vincent frowned as he looked to the weapons in his hands. "You won't need those," he said. "Barney won't attack him."

"After he tried to blow a hole in him with his stupid shotgun, you'll forgive me if I don't quite believe you," Raphael snapped.

Finally Barney focused on Baxter. He stared at his twin for a long moment, still not speaking. Then, without warning, he erupted.

 _"How dare you show up here again after all these years?! I thought you were dead! I thought that was why Shredder wouldn't let me go with him on that last mission, because he was going to kill you and he didn't want me where I could potentially stop him!"_ He seized Baxter by his upper arms. _"And now you come waltzing back into my life, not having aged a day, and I've grown old and broken-down in this Hellhole you created when you left me behind! You just left me to pick up the pieces! You_ _ **left**_ _me!"_ And he shook Baxter, once, twice, before slowly sinking to his knees and trembling, still gripping Baxter's arms for dear life.

Baxter stared, his heart shattering anew. "Barney," he whispered. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Please . . ." He bent down, trying to see into Barney's eyes. But Barney wouldn't meet his gaze, and suddenly Baxter realized that his tough, angry brother was crying. Barney sobbed desperately, at last releasing all the pent-up grief and pain of the past five years. Baxter's eyes pricked with tears as well. "Oh Barney . . . what have I done to you?" He hadn't dared do it since they were children, but now he wrapped his brother in a hug. And instead of pushing him away, Barney leaned into it.

Vincent was visibly moved. "He's going to be alright," he said in relief. "It will take time, but in five years I've never had hope for his recovery before. Now I do."

Raphael didn't want to admit that he was affected by the scene as well. "That's great and all, but we're hoping to reverse this future so it doesn't ever happen," he said as he stuck his sai back in his belt.

"And I hope you do!" Vincent exclaimed. "But even if it's only for a few hours until you succeed, Baxter has given Barney something invaluable-the chance for closure. Anyway, data can never fully be deleted from a computer. Perhaps some remnants of this timeline will live on as well. This way, they will live on with hope and not only sorrow."

"I wonder if that means that everybody will start remembering this future back in our time," Raphael remarked. "Vernon getting back memories that he got himself killed trying to save Irma? Oh brother. I wonder what that would do to him."

"They only remembered the Moriarty timeline because of the emotional shock of what happened when we met the Ghostbusters," Leonardo said. "It would probably take another emotional shock to bring out memories of this."

"Yeah. And with our luck, Leonardo, that would happen," Raphael pointed out.

"I guess the dude's got a point," Michelangelo mused.

"Well, I agree with Vincent," April said. "It _was_ a good idea to come here. I'm glad Baxter felt he needed to."

Raphael folded his arms and looked away. "Eh, I guess it wasn't a waste of time, at least."

April looked at him in exasperated amusement. "I can see you sure haven't changed."

"Ah, but remember, it's only been a few hours for us," Raphael said.

"Yeah." April looked away. "It's . . . not easy to remember that. All of us have been here suffering for years, all while you were traveling through a dimensional portal in the space of five minutes. I guess to some extent, it's not hard to understand Barney's feelings. Maybe that was why I visited him too."

Michelangelo shifted. "Are you angry at us too, April?"

"Not at you," April assured him. "At Shredder, for starting all this misery and grief."

"Yeah," Michelangelo said quietly. "He sure did."

xxxx

Donatello bustled about his lab, pushing blueprints and small inventions out of the way as he searched for the dimensional radio. "I know it's around here somewhere," he said. "Everything looks the way I left it, so it should be under these papers. . . ."

Splinter stood in the doorway and observed. After believing them all dead for so long, it was still so incredible to have them back, for one of them to be here right now, moving things around as though no time had passed at all. Of course, for Donatello it really hadn't.

"Here it is!" Donatello exclaimed in triumph. "And it looks like it should still work!" Sensing eyes on him, he turned to look. "Are you okay, Sensei?"

"Yes," Splinter said, his voice thick with emotion. "Moreso than I have been in many years. My students have come home at last."

"And now there's hope of things getting back to normal," said Irma as she came up behind him. "Shredder won't ever come to power, you guys will all still be here. . . . And Vernon won't be dead. . . ." She looked down.

"I know there has to be a way to get back," Donatello said. "I just hope it won't involve going to London and getting the atomic clock. That thing is seriously unstable." He adjusted a knob. "Okay, it's ready to try out."

"Good luck, my student," Splinter implored.

Donatello pressed the On button. "Come in, Neutrinos. Are you there?"

For a moment there was static on the screen. Then the picture cleared and the three Neutrinos in their Star Mobile came into view. "Hey, dig this!" Zak exclaimed. "It's a cool cat we never thought we'd lay eyes on again!"

"Donatello, is that really you?!" Kala cried.

"It really is," Donatello smiled. "We're all okay. Shredder threw us into a dimensional portal and we ended up here, in the future."

"Well, isn't that just like Shredder," said Dask. "So what're you gonna do now?"

"We're hoping to get back to the past so we can stop Shredder from taking control," Donatello said. "But we need some kind of a time machine or even another dimensional vortex like the one we fell through in the first place. We can't use the same one because Shredder destroyed it after sending us into it."

"So you're hoping maybe we have something you can use," Zak mused.

"That's right," Donatello said. "I'm sure I could build one, but that could take days and we really want to get home as soon as possible."

"We do have something!" Kala cried. "It's a real cool bauble we picked up at a flea market. It's a one-time use gizmo for time-travel. We haven't been able to figure out where we wanted to go, so it's just been sitting here in the glove compartment all this time."

"We'd be happy to give it to you cats," Dask said. "You need it way more than we do. We'd love to see this whole timeline get unraveled and go back the way it used to be. Things were a lot more fun then."

"Oh, thanks a bunch," Donatello said in relief. "Can you send it over right away?"

"Sure thing." Zak pressed a button and their dimensional portal opened up. "Here it comes." He threw something small and almost egg-shaped into the opening.

Donatello caught it in amazement as it came through. "This really works?!" he gasped.

"We'd swear by it," Zak said. "We've seen them used before."

"Great!" Donatello beamed. "I'll go find the others and we'll be back to the past before you know it."

"Donatello?" Kala spoke up. "Is Michelangelo okay too?"

"We're all fine," Donatello assured her. "Michelangelo too."

Kala's eyes brightened. "Oh good."

"We'll catch you later!" Dask said with a wave.

"Thanks again," Donatello said before ending the communication.

Splinter was still there, watching, still happy, but there was a bittersweet look in his eyes. "So you will be leaving again."

Donatello turned to face him. "That's right, Master. We don't want to let any more time go by with Shredder in charge. Who knows what other horrible things he might do."

Splinter nodded. "Of course you are right, and I would encourage you to act quickly if you had doubts. But still . . ." He gave a heavy sigh. "You just returned and already you are leaving."

Donatello looked down. "I know. And I'm sorry, Sensei. But if everything goes well, in a few minutes it will all be over and this timeline will be gone." He looked up again with a start. "And I guess that means you'll both be gone too." He looked from Splinter to Irma.

"We will still exist," Splinter said firmly, "in the past, where we were happy. It is alright for our selves here to no longer exist. A part of us will live on."

"And maybe fragments of this timeline will too," Donatello mused.

"Get out there and get things back to normal," Irma encouraged. "We're both behind you."

Finally Donatello smiled. "Okay then. I will." He took out his Turtle-Comm. "I'll find out where the others are. Maybe they're on their way back now and I should wait here for them."

xxxx

Barney had calmed down following his grief-charged outburst. He had been sitting on the couch for the last several minutes, his hands on his knees. Several loose strands of hair played against his face, but he didn't seem to notice them. "You have to go now, don't you?" he said at last.

Baxter, who was sitting next to him, nodded. "Yes."

Barney finally swept the hair away from his face. "And then none of this will have happened," he pressed.

"That's certainly what we're hoping," Baxter said.

"Then get out there and see to it," Barney told him. "I don't want to be like this. I'm a frustrated old man, half-insane with my memories and my rage."

"Barney, you're 48," Baxter protested. "That's hardly old, not in these modern days."

"Chronologically, yes, I'm 48," Barney agreed, "but I don't know how many years I've aged in my mind these past five years. It's been Hell, Baxter. Vincent and Miss O'Neil have been the only things keeping me from completely losing it."

Baxter looked down. "I'm so sorry."

Leonardo approached, looking regretful. "I'm sorry too, but we really do have to go," he said. "Donatello got something from the Neutrinos that should get us back to our own time. He just called to let us know about it."

Barney stood. "Then go. I want this timeline destroyed."

Baxter stood as well. "We'll do our best," he promised. He looked up as Vincent came over. "I'm afraid that means you'll be back to just being a laptop again," he said with regret.

"I won't remember this," Vincent said. "And anyway, don't you think I care more about your and Barney's happiness? When you set things right, there will finally be a chance for Barney's life to go differently."

"He'll still be working for Shred-Head," Raphael interjected.

"But he doesn't want to be," Vincent said. "He's wearing down. You might still convince him to get out."

"I'll certainly keep trying," Baxter promised. "And maybe, when there's no longer a danger of Shredder and Krang knowing about you, either Barney or I can build you this body."

"Or both of you can," Vincent said hopefully. "I still hope that someday we can be all a family."

Barney snorted. "We'll never be close like you and probably Baxter want," he said. "But . . . yes, we might be able to unite on a common goal."

"Let's go," Raphael called in a singsong voice. But in the next moment he jumped a mile in the air. "Holy Mackerel!"

Everyone turned to look as the screen door opened and Krang entered in his bubble walker. He took in the scene with a dark glower and said simply, "So, you've finally come back. I always thought you would, someday."

"You thought we would?" Raphael repeated. "Why, pray tell, would you think that?"

"I knew the artifact Shredder was after housed a dimensional vortex," Krang said. "And I was quite sure you'd all fallen into it even though he insisted he vaporized the lot of you." He looked to Barney. "I tried to tell you that, but you weren't in any condition to listen."

Barney didn't reply. Of course, Raphael didn't give him much chance. "Okay, so wait, wait. What are _you_ doing here? I thought Barney had given all of that up."

"Shredder kicked us both out," Krang warbled. "Barney has no interest in helping me take over instead, but he's useful to have around when something needs repairing. My robot body is acting up again."

"I'll see about it," Barney grunted.

"So . . . are you going to try to stop us if we just mosey on out of here and try to get back home?" Raphael asked.

"Why should I do that?" Krang retorted. "If you can get back to your own time, then none of this will have ever happened! I'll still have my Technodrome _and_ I'll still have a fighting chance of conquering this planet!"

"The dude's got a point," Michelangelo said. "Stopping us would be the last thing he'd wanna do."

"Well, as much as I hate to do anything that Krang actually wants us to do, we still need to get home," Leonardo said.

"Coming to think about it," Michelangelo mused, "we haven't heard anything about Rocksteady and Bebop. Are they still around?"

"Shredder kicked them out too," April said. "He felt he'd become so powerful he didn't need them anymore. I'm not sure where they are now."

"Good riddance to them both," Krang grunted.

Baxter looked to Barney and Vincent. "This is it then," he said quietly. "I hope I'll see you both later tonight, back in our own time."

"Goodbye, Baxter, old pal," said Vincent.

Barney gave a firm nod. "Goodbye." From his eyes, he wanted to say more. But he didn't. His moment of vulnerability was past. He was a closed book again.

Baxter gave him a sad smile and turned to follow the others out.

xxxx

The drive back started out peacefully enough. But when an army of dark shapes stepped into the street and April was forced to throw on the brakes, Leonardo got a very bad feeling. "It's Shredder!" he cried.

And indeed it was. "So! You've found your way back from the dimensional limbo I cast you into!" the warlord sneered. "I knew it would happen one day. Tonight I received a tip from one of my many informers that you were here."

"An informer?!" Leonardo cried. "Who?!"

April's eyes went blank. "I did as you instructed, Master Shredder."

"No way!" Michelangelo gasped. "Not April!"

Shredder cackled madly. "You didn't really think I'd let her serve as my top aide without making a few little adjustments to her personality and her loyalties, do you? I used one of Krang's brainwashing machines on her. The side of her that you've been interacting with isn't even aware of the other side of her! It's so delicious."

"Well, I think it's mondo sick!" Michelangelo snarled. He leaped out of the Turtle Van in a rare fit of anger, swinging his nunchunks over his head.

"Michelangelo!" Baxter exclaimed.

The other Turtles ran out after him, all baring their weapons. "It _is_ sick, Shredder," Leonardo declared. "And we're not going to let you get away with it!"

"You won't have any choice!" Shredder replied. "You are no match for my army!"

The Foot Soldiers charged. So did the Turtles.

Baxter sat in the van with April, his heart racing. Somehow he had to get through to her and bring her back to herself. She had been training with Splinter; her skills were needed now. "Miss O'Neil!" he cried, gripping her shoulder. "Can you hear me?"

"I only answer to Master Shredder," April responded in that blank tone of voice.

"You told me once that talking to someone could help break the control over their mind," Baxter said. "I'm putting my trust in your words now. Miss O'Neil, the Turtles need you! You have to focus on my voice and snap out of this!"

April didn't answer. Baxter slumped back in despair.

"Hi," Donatello suddenly called. "Need a hand?"

Baxter perked up. "Donatello!" he said in relief.

"And me!" Irma announced.

"And I have come as well," said Splinter. "I wanted to see all of you off to the past. Now I see that our assistance is badly needed."

"It is," Baxter agreed. Three more didn't seem like much against an army of this size, but anything sounded better than the number of people who were currently fighting Shredder and his army.

"Here," said Donatello, handing Baxter a egg-shaped object. "This is our ticket home. Guard it with your life!"

Baxter stared at it. "How on Earth will this get us anywhere?!"

"It's a one-time portal to any time of our choosing," Donatello replied. Then he ran ahead and jumped up, kicking two Foot Soldiers.

Irma slashed her way through the robot army, her eyes filled with mounting rage. "This is for Channel 6!" she snarled at one. "And this is for ruining our city!"

"Wait!" Baxter called to Splinter when he was about to join the fray as well. "Miss O'Neil has been brainwashed by Shredder. I don't know how to bring her out of it!"

Splinter looked over. "You do not need my help, Dr. Stockman. You can save her." He certainly seemed to be greatly invigorated. He sprang in the air and came down on two Foot Soldiers, bringing them to the ground.

"I can't!" Baxter shot back. "It's just as I always knew-talking to someone will not shatter mind-control!"

But Splinter was too involved in the battle to hear him.

Baxter ran a hand through his hair. "If I had the machine, I could solve this so easily," he said to himself. "My mind is wired for logic and facts. I don't know how to . . . oh no!" He gasped as Irma flew backwards and crashed on the ground.

April watched. But although her eyes flickered, she otherwise did not react.

Baxter leaned forward. "Miss O'Neil, you have to get out there," he ordered. "Miss Langinstein needs your help!" He fumbled with the door. "And if you can't go out to her, then I'll have to!"

Irma stumbled to her feet, bruised but not defeated. "And this is for throwing me across the street!" she yelled, slicing at another robot.

Baxter slumped back. "Miss O'Neil, this resistance movement needs every person it can get," he tried again. "Don't you understand? This is exactly what you've been training for! Shredder could be defeated here and now if enough people fight him. Otherwise, someone else could die at his hands, just like Mr. Fenwick!"

That reached her. "No," she whispered. "No, I can't let anyone else die. I can't!" She flew out the door, her blue eyes narrowed in determination. "Look out, Shredder. You won't know what hit you!"

Baxter stared in disbelieving amazement. "I actually got through to her," he gasped.

In the next moment he was forced to leap out of the van when several Foot Soldiers crashed into the side. The sparks ignited the gas tank and the van exploded in a cacophony of light and sound.

"The van just went up!" Leonardo cried.

"Baxter!" Michelangelo ran over to the inferno. "Baxter, are you still in there?!" He gazed at the flames in horror, occupied with looking for his friend. He never even saw the Foot Soldier coming up from behind him.

Baxter did. He pounced, bringing the robot to its knees. "I'm alright, Michelangelo!" he assured the Turtle. "But you were almost killed just now!"

Michelangelo spun around. "Oh man. I didn't even see that one."

Baxter smashed the robot's head into the ground and shakily got off of the sparking body. "I know."

"Oh my gosh!" April suddenly shrieked.

That got everyone's attention. "It's Irma!" Leonardo exclaimed. "She's almost on Shredder!"

"Now that is something I never thought I'd see," Raphael remarked.

"She'll be killed!" Donatello said in horror.

Shredder whirled, seeming more amused than anything else by the sight of Irma standing before him and wielding a katana. "Well, Miss Langinstein," he mocked. "So it's come down to this, has it? What are you going to do? I'm here, the most important prize. Are you going to take me down?"

Irma looked at him for what seemed a long moment, even though it was mere fractions of a second. "This," she said, "is for sending the Turtles and Dr. Stockman away and starting this whole mess." She slashed, cutting off the spikes on his hands and gauntlets.

Shredder stared. "I must admit, that's impressive," he said. "But I am far more than that. I have many tricks. And you, Miss Langinstein, will die."

One last Foot Soldier rose up, pulling Irma backwards to the ground. She yelped as she fell, but her grip on the sword didn't loosen. Shredder sprang in the air, ready to come down and break her body with several well-placed ninja moves.

"Irma!" April screamed. She ran forward, but she knew it was hopeless. Just like before, they were all too far away. And unlike before, there was no surprise hero to interfere and save her.

Irma clenched her teeth. "And this is for Vernon." She thrust her sword directly upward into the air. It slammed into Shredder's chest and his eyes widened for one brief moment before they darkened forever and he crashed in the midst of the Foot Soldiers that littered the ground. Irma sat there, breathing heavily, not even seeming to notice the spattered blood on her face and glasses.

Finally April reached her. "Irma!" She knelt down, examining her friend. None of the blood was hers; it was all Shredder's. "Irma, you did it!"

"I . . . I . . ." Irma's eyes welled with tears. "I just killed someone." She collapsed into April's arms, clutching her close. "I thought it would bring closure or make me feel fulfilled, but . . . it just feels so empty." She sobbed, burying her face in April's shoulder. "Vernon is still gone. He's never coming back. Never."

"I know, Irma. I know." April's own eyes were moist now. "But you did what you had to do. Nobody else will have to die at Shredder's hands like Vernon did. Now we have a chance to rebuild."

"Yes. I am very proud of both of you, my students," Splinter said as he approached. "As I am proud of you, my Turtles, and also you, Dr. Stockman. You have all brought us to this victory tonight."

"But like, if we're able to go back now and fix the past, none of this will have even happened," Michelangelo said. "Does the victory even matter?"

"Yes, it does," Splinter said. "Even if there are no remnants of this timeline after it is fixed, it matters in the here and now. This is our present, and our purpose has been fulfilled. Now, my Turtles, Dr. Stockman, you must return to your time and your purposes."

Leonardo bowed. "We will, Master. And thank you."

Baxter held out the egg-shaped device. "I've programmed it for the exact day, time, and place," he reported. "We'll reappear in our time five minutes after we were sent through the dimensional portal."

"Mondo bizarro, Dude," Michelangelo said. "It'll be like none of this ever happened for us, too."

"But you will remember," Splinter said. "And as long as you remember and take something from what you have seen and done here, this experience will have been valuable for all of you."

"And we will," Leonardo said.

"Oh boy, will we ever," said Raphael.

Baxter pressed the button and the portal opened. "We'll have to hurry," he said. "It won't stay open long."

"Farewell, all of you," said Splinter.

"Goodbye," April and Irma echoed.

The quintet also called their Goodbyes. Then they went through the portal and everything faded.

xxxx

"Michelangelo?"

Michelangelo blinked, opening his eyes at the sound of Baxter's voice. "What is it?" he mumbled. "Are we home yet?"

"We're home." Baxter held out a hand and Michelangelo took it, pulling himself up.

"Alright!" he exclaimed. "We're back in the museum! And it's not falling apart!"

"And there go Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady!" Leonardo called. "After them!"

The Turtles gave chase. As they stampeded down the hall, the echoing noise attracted the attention of the antagonists.

"Hey," Bebop frowned. "Didn't we just get rid of them?"

Shredder spun around. "How did you get back?!"

"I don't think we're going to tell you, Shredder," Leonardo smirked. "But let's just say that the future didn't turn out as satisfying for you as you hoped."

Shredder whipped out his comm-link. "Krang! Open the portal!"

For once it opened swiftly. Shredder ran through, followed by Bebop and Rocksteady.

"Aww, and I wanted the chance to thrash them again today," Raphael smirked.

"They'll be back," Leonardo said. "But at least now we know the future is safe."

The Turtles all high-fived. Baxter smiled, watching them, and slowly took out his phone. He knew everything was back to normal now, but he still wanted some reassurance. He would send Barney an email and make sure he was alright.

xxxx

Barney was furious.

"Why didn't you let me go along on the mission today?" he demanded of Shredder almost as soon as he was back on the Technodrome. "You've never kept me back before."

"Why don't you tell me why," Shredder snarled.

Barney folded his arms. "Because you didn't want me to know that you were going to try to get rid of Baxter. I saw what you did on the transdimensional screen."

"Why should I care?" Shredder shot back. "You hate Baxter, don't you?"

Barney ignored the question. "I don't know what's going through your mind," he retorted. "But I don't trust you or your motivations."

"And I don't trust yours!" Shredder pointed a forefinger at Barney in emphasis. "Did you think I wouldn't hear you ranting about loving and hating Baxter at the same time or not notice how you're always the last one of us to leave after a mission? You stay behind to talk to your brother!"

"Is that a crime?" Barney was not impressed. "I never stay behind unless he calls to me. You know he has this ridiculous idea that I can be redeemed."

"You don't have to stay back to talk to him every time," Shredder snapped. "You could tell him to go jump in a lake."

"What's all this noise?" Krang croaked. "So what if Barney humors his brother by staying to talk to him? Does that somehow affect you, Shredder?"

Shredder looked to Krang with flashing eyes. "The main reason you even wanted Barney here in the first place was because you found him so cold and cruel towards Baxter!"

"Yes, I thought he was," Krang agreed. "But it is highly unusual for any humans to not care about their family members. You are an anomaly, Shredder. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that Barney still cares about his brother."

"Then I trust that my conversations with Baxter won't be a problem," Barney said.

"I hope not," Krang grunted. "Now get out of here so I can scold Shredder for his latest failure."

It was only after Barney left that Krang looked to Shredder with grim eyes. "I still think Barney's fine, but there's no harm keeping a closer eye on him from now on," he said. "If he cares about his brother, someday he might listen to those ridiculous ideas about being redeemed. Or in any case, he might not want to go through with a plan that might hurt Baxter. And then who knows what he might do to our operations."

Shredder's eyes glinted. "I love when you actually talk sense."

"What did you find when you watched him during my Relaxatron scheme?" Krang asked.

"As far as I could tell, Barney handled everything exactly the way he was supposed to," Shredder grudgingly admitted. "Except he wanted Rocksteady and Bebop to be gentle with Baxter. He said he owed Baxter for trying to save him on the mountain."

"And maybe that was his only reasoning," Krang said. "We'll see."

xxxx

Barney stormed back to his laboratory, shutting the door with a bang.

Vincent looked up. "What's wrong, Barney?"

"I think our time here is getting short," Barney answered. "Unless I can convince Shredder and Krang that I'm still on their side."

"Do you want to?"

Barney scowled and propped himself up on his elbows. "A while back, I would have said Yes. Now I don't know what to think."

"You're still thinking about what Michelangelo said to you, aren't you?"

Barney looked over. "He said he forgives me," he said in disbelief. "Can you imagine? I turned him into a golden statue and he can stand there like a naive idiot and say he forgives me for it! I could never forgive someone who would do that to me."

"Do you think all kindness is naivete?"

"Well, I don't think it's very smart." Barney stood again and started to pace. "And it doesn't make sense! How could he forgive me?!"

"Some people aren't angry like you, Barney. They don't hold grudges."

"I know that, but I don't understand it." Barney continued to pace.

"Barney, why don't we get out?" Vincent sounded hopeful. "If Shredder and Krang are starting to think you're a liability, they could hurt you. I don't want to see you hurt."

"Getting out could hurt me too," Barney said. "I doubt they let anyone leave alive. You know that Krang just tried to kill Baxter instead of letting him leave their employ."

The notification of a new email brought them both to attention. Barney drew the laptop closer to him and Vincent allowed the screen to shift back to the desktop. As Barney clicked the email application, a short message appeared.

 _Barney,_

 _Are you alright? I didn't see you today._

 _Baxter_

Barney frowned, tapping his finger on the edge of the laptop as he contemplated his reply.

"Why don't you ask him for help, Barney?" Vincent asked. "You know he'd help you get out if you asked him."

"And bring down their wrath on him?" Barney shook his head. "I can't do that to him."

After a moment he quickly typed an answer.

 _I'm fine._

 _Barney_

Then, frowning to himself, he added, _Thank you for your concern_ after _I'm fine._

"You didn't want to be so abrupt and cold with him," Vincent noted.

Barney clicked Send. "What of it?" he retorted. "There wasn't any need."

"There never is," Vincent said softly. "You're changing, Barney, in more ways than one."

Barney didn't acknowledge that.


End file.
